The ability to remotely actuate a Garage Door Opener (GDO) unit from the exterior of a closed garage door is typically provided by a dedicated GDO remote control, and in certain cases, by a keypad mounted near the exterior of the garage door. When an external keypad is not provided for garage door access, a user is typically required to carry the dedicated GDO remote control to retain the ability to reenter through the garage after departing his or her home and closing the garage door. This can be inconvenient in instances wherein the user is required to carry the dedicated GDO remote control on his or her person, as may be the case when the user leaves his or her home for the purposes of walking, biking, running, or the like. Furthermore, even when an external keypad is provided for garage door access, neither the external keypad nor the dedicated GDO remote control permits control of the GDO unit from significant distances as may be desirable when, for example, a user is at work, on vacation, or otherwise physically absent from the home and wishes to remotely open the garage door to grant temporary access to a neighbor, delivery driver, or other person. While the HomeLink® wireless control system and other in-vehicle GDO systems have been developed and are now widely adopted, such systems also do not improve user convenience in the above-noted respects.
It would thus be desirable to provide means for enabling the remote control of a GDO unit without the usage of a dedicated GDO remote control or an externally-mounted GDO keypad. In particular, it would be desirable to provide embodiments of a vehicular GDO control system that could be remotely controlled from the exterior of a closed garage door, and preferably, from virtually any distance utilizing a remote electronic device, such as a keyfob, smartphone, or other portable electronic device commonly carried on a user's person. It would also be desirable if, at least in some embodiments, such a vehicular GDO control system could provide feedback indicating the position of the garage door prior to and/or after remotely commanding the GDO unit to open or close the garage door. Lastly, it would also be desirable to provide methods and program products, such as a smartphone software application, for performance or usage in conjunction with such vehicular GDO control system. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent Detailed Description and the appended Claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings and the foregoing Background. No statement in the foregoing section shall be considered an admission of the teachings of prior art or of a technical problem or need recognized in the prior art.